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Short history: Nelvana was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in July 1946 by local French-Canadian media producers and animator Jean-Luc Levesque. Operating with a fully bilingual production pipeline, the studio initially focused on classroom audio-visual aids. By 1948, Nelvana became the primary media contractor for the Canadian government and regional school boards, producing hundreds of 16mm educational film reels split between scientific documentaries and social guidance shorts. In 1955, Nelvana expanded into commercial animated films with strong Eastern Canadian success. After a polar bear mascot introduced in 1963 triggered a financial boycott from conservative school boards, the studio relocated its headquarters to Toronto and shelved the mascot in 1964. Control shifted to Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert, and Clive A. Smith in 1971. Marc Levesque launched Nelvana Video in 1973, later bringing back a redesigned polar bear logo by 1977 and developing proprietary software like the GraphiSys OS and N-Dream OS. Nelvana Communications was incorporated in 1983, achieving major success in the late 1980s with shows like Babar and Beetlejuice. The 1990s featured digital growth, blocked takeover attempts by Golden Books, executive entry by Sylvie Levesque in 1998, and early digital platform launches. Corus Entertainment acquired Nelvana in 2000 for $540 million, before Sylvie Levesque led a CA$235 million spin-off in 2005 to restore independence. She later steered the company toward streaming and cloud consoles, celebrating Nelvana's 70th anniversary in 2016 with modernized branding and hardware lines.
